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Rabbi Arthur Segal’s love of people, humanity, and Judaism has him
sharing with others “The Wisdom of the Ages” that has been passed on to
him. His writings for modern Jews offer Spiritual, Ethical, and
eco-Judaic lessons in plain English and with relevance to contemporary
lifestyles. He is the author of countless articles, editorials,
letters, and blog
posts, and he has recently published two books:

ALL ENTRIES ARE (C) AND PUBLISHED BY RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL, INC, AND NOT BY ANY INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE OF SAID CORPORATION. THIS APPLIES TO 3 OTHER BLOGS (CHUMASH, ECO, SPIRITUALITY) AND WEB SITES PUBLISHED BY SAID CORPORATION.

In our tour through the Jewish calendar this year, October yields many holidays: Sundown 9/2, and days of 9/3 and 9/4 are Rosh Hashanah, Sundown 9/11 and day of 9/12 is Yom Kippur, and from Sundown 9/16 to 9/24 is Sukkot, followed by Simchat Torah on 9/25. It is impossible in this short article to discuss every detail of the above. I will touch on some this month. Because November has no holiday, I will discuss more then.

Rosh Hashanah, [Head of Year] is the 4th of four New Years on the Jewish calendar. People wish happy "Jewish New Year" to each other. They are slightly incorrect. The First of Tishrei, when September's Rosh Hashanah occurs, is the Hebrew year's seventh month. The Talmud teaches this spiritual message, to remember each day, but especially on Rosh Hashanah: This is the New Year of the World and of All Humankind! This is the day God created Adam and Eve, who were neither Jewish nor Hebrew (Talmud Rosh Hashanah 10b-11a).

The rabbis teach that on Rosh Hashanah we should remember that we all the same set of human parents and one Divine parent, and no one individual, people or religion is better than the next. We are all created in God's image. "Humanity was produced from one man, Adam, to show God's greatness. When a man mints a coin in a press, each coin is identical. But when the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, creates people in the form of Adam, not one is similar to any other, but all are equal," (Talmud Sanhedrin 4:5).

On Yom Kippur most will pray for forgiveness, but without a moral inventory {chesbon ha nefesh}, many aren't aware of their character defects, nor of whom they have hurt, nor have they found their flaws objectionable. The sages teach that the day is better spent in soul-searching, making amends to those we have harmed, and not in the pews. God forgives us for sins against Him (e.g. breaking Shabbat), but for harm done to others, we must make direct amends, [Talmud Yoma 85b]. To be forgiven for our sins, we must forgive all others and do away with resentments, [Talmud Rosh Hashanah 17a].

JEWISH WEDDINGS

"One of the Joys of being a Rabbi," says Rabbi Arthur Segal," is working closely with the bride and groom and officiating at their wedding." He can do this with couples living near by or with couples having a destination wedding in the greater beautiful Hilton Head Island area.

Rabbi Arthur Segal helps develop a custom ceremony with the couple so that each word in the ceremony rings true to them. His ceremonies can range from the very traditional to what ever the couples desires. Rabbi opines that this is the couple's special day, and to treat each wedding as unique.

For those who are having an interfaith wedding, Rabbi takes special care to respect both traditions, again with total input from the couple. He will be pleased to co-officiate at weddings, using non-Trinitarian language.

Rabbi Arthur Segal also will do recommitment marriage ceremonies with the same care as he does weddings.

Rabbi will work closely with the wedding planer and/or caterer to make sure the wedding is seamless, and the bride and groom can totally enjoy themselves on their special day.

Rabbi Arthur Segal is available, and actually prefers, to be at the rehearsal, to ensure all is going smoothly, and to get to know the bridal party, and family, before the actual wedding day.

For those that wish to have a Ketubah, rabbi will work closely to make sure everyone's name has correct calligraphy on the document, in English and Hebrew, so the signing ceremony is flawless.

Rabbi Arthur Segal tries to limit his weddings to Hilton Head, SC, Bluffton, SC, Palmetto Bluff, SC, Savannah, GA, and Charleston, SC, but has been known to make himself available elsewhere, even out of the USA. He will also conduct weddings and recommitment ceremonies on cruise ships.

In keeping with Jewish ethics, if the couple resides in Rabbi Arthur Segal's town, Rabbi will ask, unless there are some special circumstances, if the couple has first asked the local pulpit rabbi to officiate.